Ambassador Media – August 26, 2025 Germany
The Global Peace Index (GPI) has once again placed Ethiopia among the least peaceful countries in the world, ranking the nation 138th out of 163 countries, a glaring indictment of the Ethiopian government’s failure to resolve the country’s spiraling conflicts.
Despite years of promises, ceasefire announcements, and peace negotiations, the Ethiopian government has utterly failed to deliver lasting stability. Instead, the country remains mired in violence, instability, and growing insecurity, leaving millions of citizens in despair.
The report highlighted Ethiopia’s more than two-year war in the north, which devastated communities and displaced countless families. Yet even after this destructive conflict, violence continues to erupt across various regions, fueled by unresolved political differences, ethnic tensions, and weak governance. The government’s inability—or unwillingness—to genuinely address these root causes has left the country vulnerable to continuous cycles of bloodshed.
Among 44 African nations reviewed in the report, Ethiopia ranked 36th, lagging behind its neighbor Eritrea, which placed 32nd despite its notoriously authoritarian regime. This shameful comparison underscores how Ethiopia’s government, despite claiming democratic legitimacy, is delivering worse peace outcomes than a dictatorship widely condemned for human rights violations.
The GPI report directly links Ethiopia’s poor ranking to political instability, armed conflict, and weak peace efforts, noting that government actions have been half-hearted and incomplete. Ceasefires have been repeatedly broken, negotiations remain superficial, and reconciliation initiatives have failed to heal the fractures tearing the country apart.
The Ethiopian people continue to pay the price. From widespread displacement to humanitarian crises, the cost of the government’s incompetence and mismanagement is borne by ordinary citizens, while those in power remain insulated.
By contrast, the report noted Eritrea’s poor performance is tied to decades of authoritarian rule, compulsory military service, and human rights violations. But what is most alarming for Ethiopia is that it now stands shoulder to shoulder with such regimes in the league of the world’s least peaceful nations—despite being a country that once promised democratic reform and regional leadership.
At the top of the index, Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world, a stark reminder of what competent governance, respect for human rights, and a commitment to peace can achieve.
Ethiopia’s government, however, has taken the opposite path—failing to manage internal differences, ignoring genuine dialogue, and prioritizing power consolidation over peace. Until there is accountability and a radical shift in leadership priorities, Ethiopia risks sinking even further into instability, becoming a permanent fixture on the list of the world’s least peaceful nations.